Cardinals History on This Date
1936– The St. Louis Cardinals traded Eddie Morgan to the Brooklyn Dodgers for George Earnshaw
1939– The season ends with the Cardinals in second place 4.5 games behind the Reds with a 92-61 record. Mize wins the batting title at .349 and the NL slugging percentage at .626 along with leading the league with 28 home runs. Slaughter (age 23) hits .320 has 52 doubles. Davis wins 22 games as he was in the Dizzy Dean trade.
1953– The St. Louis Cardinals purchased Nelson Burbrink from the Chicago Cubs.
1955– Bill Virdon is selected as the National League’s Rookie of the Year. The Cardinal outfielder, easily identified by his eye glasses, receives 57 of the 92 writers’ votes to beat runners-up Phillies hurler Jack Meyer and teammate Ken Boyer for the freshman award.
1956– The St. Louis Cardinals traded Rocky Nelson and Jim Pearce and cash to Toronto (International) for Frank Barnes.
1964 In the event of a tie at the end of the season, National League president Warren Giles flips a coin to determine the different possible playoff pairings, which includes six possibilities – two with two-teams, three with three-teams and one with four teams. Reds’ president and general manager Bill DeWitt wins the first toss and chooses to play the Cardinals at home, if Cincinnati prevails.
1978 On the last day of the season at Qualcomm Stadium, Ozzie Smith does his signature flip for the first time. The Padres shortstop, asked by the club to do it for Fans Appreciation Day, will continue his gymnastic prowess as a member of the Cardinals, with the somersault becoming an Opening Day tradition at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
2000- In the season finale, Kazuhiro Sasaki sets the rookie record for saves by notching his 37th when he tosses 1.2 innings of scoreless relief in the Mariners’ 5-2 victory over Los Angeles at Edison Field. The 32 year-old Japanese closer surpasses Todd Worrell’s mark established in 1986 when the right-handed reliever played for the Cardinals.
2008– Rico Washington of the St. Louis Cardinals granted free agency.
2009 Tony La Russa moves past John McGraw into second place for the most games managed in major league history. With his 4,770 contests as a manager, the Cardinal skipper now trails only Connie Mack, who amassed a total of 7755 during his 53 years in the dugout.
Birthdays
Jim Hackett 1877
Ed Zmich 1884
Duster Mack 1894
Carmen Hill 1895
Jimmy Reese 1901
Pete Falcone 1953
Mark McGwire 1963
Debuts
Gerry O’Shea 1905
Reggie Cleveland 1969
Deaths
Abe White 1973
Walter Alston 1984
Ellis Burton 2013